PM gets fighter jet escort from Switzerland

Two Swiss fighter jets escorted Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plane out of Switzerland's air space on Friday, but not because there was any risk of danger.

The fighter jets materialized suddenly out of the clouds after the prime minister's massive Airbus 340 took off from Zurich.

The jets manoeuvred close on either side of the plane, about 30 metres from its wingtips. They flew with the Airbus for a few minutes before zooming off again into the grey sky.

Security and media on board the PM's plane were initially shocked by the sudden appearance of fighter jets, but were eventually assured that there was no threat to anyone's safety.

Rather, it was an honour guard sent to escort the prime minister out of Swiss air space, a Harper spokesman explained.

The honour guard escort is rarely deployed, and is considered a heartfelt sign of close ties between Switzerland and Canada, the spokesman said.

The jets were fully armed, carrying large air-to-air missiles on their wings.

Harper had been attending the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, and was on his way back to St. John's, where he was to attend a construction industry event and meet with Premier Danny Williams.

He didn't notice the jets, his spokesman said, but was told about them after they left.

In Davos, Harper had a chance to solidify the Canada-Swiss relationship.

He met for more than an hour with Swiss President Doris Leuthard on Thursday. The two talked about the Olympics, the coming G8 and G20 summits in Canada, the need to resist protectionism and to follow up on the climate-change agreement reached last month in Copenhagen.

Switzerland is taking over the chairmanship of the Francophonie from Canada, holding the next summit for French-speaking countries in Montreux in the fall.

Harper also used the Davos meeting to object to European — and possibly Swiss — trade sanctions against Canada over the seal hunt.

But the honour-guard escort suggests there were no lingering hard feelings.